Moon Dog’s grand Footscray opening cancelled at last minute

An issue over a fire hydrant has ignited a war of words between a brewery that had to cancel its grand opening at the last minute and a council that says it has been “misrepresented”.

A popular brewery has had its grand opening cancelled at the last minute. Picture: Arianna Leggiero

A dogfight between a popular brewery and local council in Melbourne’s west has unfolded, causing the cancellation of a highly anticipated opening party of a “wild west” themed bar.

Moon Dog Wild West was set to open its three-storey venue in the iconic Franco Cozzo building on Hopkins St in Footscray on Thursday night.

Co-founder Karl van Buuren said Maribyrnong Council had ruled their fire hydrant non-compliant the night before opening.

The venue had planned to hold a special preview for guests on Wednesday night ahead of the launch, but was forced to turn people away.

But Maribyrnong Council chief executive Celia Haddock said the cancellation had been “misrepresented” by Moon Dog and that the matter was between the businesses and their private building surveyor.

Moon Dog Wild West was set to open its three-storey venue on Thursday. Picture: Arianna Leggier

The old Franco Cozzo building. Picture: Sam Schultz

Mr van Buuren said the council had ruled their fire hydrant non-compliant the night before opening. Picture: Arianna Leggiero

Ms Haddock said the decision to not issue an occupancy certificate was “not made by council”.

“Our understanding is that earlier this week, Moon Dog’s private building surveyor, who is responsible for issuing the relevant building permits and certificate of occupancy required for the venue to trade, had flagged issues with the fire hydrant and booster cabinet, as the works had not been carried out in accordance with the relevant Building Regulations 2018,” she said.

“Council is disappointed that the cancellation of the opening has been misrepresented by Moon Dog as being a decision made by Council, especially given how closely we have worked with them throughout the planning and construction process.”

Mr van Buuren said in a statement: “On Tuesday an inspection of our fire system uncovered an issue in the installation process, which meant that a few changes needed to be made to achieve certification.

“These changes were then carried out the next day and the system was then certified.

“Council then made us aware that the location of the fire hydrant, which was positioned as per our approved plans, was not allowed to be on the footpath and would need to be relocated inside the building.

“At this stage, our number one focus is getting the venue open as soon as possible and welcoming everyone in for a beer.

“We are so sorry to everyone that turned up last night excited to check out our amazing new venue, but instead were turned away.

“We always knew creating a venue of this size and scale with ambitious timelines was going to have its challenges, but it’s bitterly disappointing to have been tripped up at the last hurdle after doing everything by the book.”

The venue had planned to hold a special preview for guests on Wednesday night. Picture: Arianna Leggiero

The venue will feature a mechanical bull. Picture: Arianna Leggiero

Mr van Buuren said they are still trying to reach a resolution with the council. Picture: Arianna Leggiero

Mr van Buuren said they were trying to reach a resolution as soon as possible.

“We have had amazing support from the council and the Footscray community in the lead up to opening this venue and we are very sorry to all the bookings, functions and everyone else that was planning to come down tonight,” he said.

“We’re hopeful to have a resolution as soon as possible and when we do, we look forward to sharing a new opening date with everyone and finally cracking an ice cold beer and jumping on the bucking bull.”

Preview of food to be served at Moon Dog Wild West. Picture: Sam Schultz

Moon Dog co-founders Josh Uljans and Karl van Buuren at Moon Dog Wild West. Picture: Sam Schultz

The stunted opening comes after various back and forth with Maribyrnong City Council last year.

Moon Dog’s proposal to transform the three-storey Hopkins Street building into a booming bar was initially rejected by council.

Safety concerns, including possible risks to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists around the area were originally cited as the reasons for blocking the development of the three-storey pub.

But the council reversed its decision after Moon Dog agreed to manage occupancy levels to reduce the risks of large numbers of people exiting the venue onto a narrow footpath next to the busy road.

Moon Dog was founded in 2010 in Melbourne by brothers Josh and Jake Uljans and school friend Karl van Buuren.

The business operates two other venues, Moon Dog World in Preston and Moon Dog OG in Abbotsford.